Selbstbildnis vor rotem Hintergrund 1906

Egon Schiele made this self-portrait, called "Selbstbildnis vor rotem Hintergrund," which translates to "Self-Portrait in Front of a Red Background," with oil on canvas. What grabs me is the tension between the carefully rendered face and the looser, almost anxious brushwork everywhere else. Schiele's working fast, you can see the energy in the strokes, especially in that red background. It’s like he’s trying to capture a feeling more than a likeness. The way he builds up the paint is interesting, in some areas it’s thin and transparent, like in the shadows of his face, and in others, especially on the suit, it’s thicker, almost chunky. The contrast makes the figure come forward, he uses the texture to define the form. That small bow tie almost seems to float against the rest of the suit, a little focal point of strange formality. Schiele reminds me of Kokoschka, a little bit, in the urgency and raw emotion he brings to his self-portraits. Both of them understood painting as a way to explore the inner self, messy and unresolved as it may be.